Japanese Death Metal titans INVICTUS are back with their debut full length following a couple of singles and a split. This release already has huge anticipation surrounding it and I am certainly intrigued to find out what these guys have to offer. Out via FDA Records on January 24th.
Eerie sampling sets us out on our morbid journey, definitely setting a great mood for a Death Metal record. Crushing riffs and tight drums hit hard with little warning and take us into a brutal sonic assault of incredibly pervasive extremity. The hideously snarled vocals complete the raw bellowing of macabre insanity and we are given some almost tech-death style riffs which add some melody and catchy hooks to the mix while keeping the savagery of the genre as the main focus. I must admit from the artwork I was expecting more Swedish style material with HM-2 guitars and such but these guys are nothing like those bands, taking a much more typically American style with the Japanese Metal insanity very clearly present. Each track is very much to the point with a barbaric approach of passionately executed Death Metal with some incredibly proficient riffs, solos and drum work that work in unison to conjure up total devastation with a slew of vocals that rasp over the guttural blend marvellously. Invictus certainly deliver something killer with their debut album, which may require a little fine-tuning to turn into the Death Metal war-machine this band has the potential to become, but still a damn fine first record with plentiful headbanging fuel and gruesome musicianship which is more than welcome. The blend of brutality, technicality and primitive thrashing certainly has plenty of charm and while at some times there seems to be flaws transitioning between them, the musicianship is incredibly well done and the ideas are inarguably fantastic with the skill to back them up. There is also no lack of ambition from these guys and that’s what I really dig about this first record, I am sure there is going to be huge potential on upcoming releases and in its own right this certainly is a killer slab of Death Metal to sink your teeth into. -7.5/10
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